Final Fantasy 7: The Rise Of Sephiroth and Family
by vampirenav
Summary: A very AU story containing three new characters, if you love the remnents, Reno, Sephiroth and Vincent well then read this. SxOC GxOC AxOC ZxAer RexRu.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first FF fic so please be nice, and review. And just so you all know incase you didn't get it in the summary, this is totally AU, I mean it.  
**

* * *

Ash swerved around the corner and into the parking garage of ShinRa and her bike came to a sudden stop just before she crashed into Rude's ride. She was going to be so late for the Turk meeting, damn Reno for changing the alarm on her PHS, when she saw him she was going to kill the boy. She just couldn't believe that ShinRa would actually allow a seventeen year old to be a Turk, well he was actually still a Turk in Training, a T.I.T but that was like being a Turk. She grabbed her weapon of choice from the side of her bike; it was a longer version of a souba sword called Kaname. Strapping it to her hip the brunette raced inside and stopped at the elevators, one had a ridiculously long queue waiting for it and the other was practically empty, if you didn't count the three SOLDIER 1st classes waiting to board. Not many people had the balls to get in an elevator with those three and to tell the truth, she wasn't sure she had the balls to do it either, but it was that, or be late for her meeting. Oh how she was going to enjoy killing Reno when she got a hold of him, the SOLDIERs were getting on and the doors would close in a few seconds. Letting out a small but very un-Turk like whimper she shot into the elevator just before the doors closed and somehow managed not to crash into the three men already in there.

The doors shut and Ash allowed herself to finally breathe, her chest was heaving, considering she had just run an entirety of two lengths of the ShinRa building. Crossing her arms over her chest with her back to the other three, she prayed that the SOLDIER floor would come up so that the three behind her could get off and leave her in her own misery. Alas that was not going to happen today.

Genesis and Sephiroth shot each other a sort of amused look when the girl practically slid into the elevator, and Angeal rolled his eyes at the two. It was clear that the girl was a Turk, and he had often seen her at the Vice President's side when he went out, and it was also clear that the girl was going to be very late for something, if her laboured breathing was anything to go by. The elevator stopped a few floors up and the girl let out a small sigh of relief, it was the SOLDIER floor, but the three 1st classes didn't move. Instead another SOLDIER was about to climb on but he stopped short when he saw the girl. "Ash?" he asked her in a rather amused tone, before joining the four in the confined space.

"Not a word Zachery." She growled at the 3rd class.

And Angeal raised an eyebrow, '_how does she know Zack?_´ he thought, it was common knowledge that SOLDIER and the Turks did not usually socialise.

"Ahh," Zack replied in a knowing tone, "Reno?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

Ash forgot her shyness and replied in a low aggravated voice, "I'm going to kill that little T.I.T."

And Zack burst out into laughter, "I'm sure he didn't mean it Ash."

"Didn't mean it my ass, that little turd is going to die a long, slow and painful death, mark my words, I'm getting that boy before the end of today."

"And how exactly would Tseng take you killing off one of his most promising Turks since you?"

"Screw what Tseng thinks, I'm now officially late for the meeting, which means that Reno is all on his own."

"Ash you know can't kill him; you'd lose all those amazing privileges that you get as a Turk." Zack replied, Angeal shot a questioning look at his student and Zack just waved it off.

"Oh fine," Ash pouted, "I'm still sending him to the hospital." Just as she said this the elevator stopped again, on a floor just a few levels below the Turk floor and there, lo and behold was Reno, trying to chat up a scientist. Ash stuck her arm out to stop the doors from closing and as they opened up she had an evil glint in her eye.

"Oh crap," Zack sighed, she was so going to hurt Reno.

"If you'll excuse me Zachery I have an idiot to take care of. Oh Reno!" she called, the red head turned and his eyes met hers, they widened almost comically and he turned and started to run, Ash of course ran after him, "Get back here, you ginger haired ass!"

Zack shook his head as the doors closed, and that's when Angeal rounded on him, because Zack had never kept anything from him before, Angeal was supposed to know everything about his student, and right now he didn't. "Since when you are friends with a Turk? Especially one that seems to be so..."

"Volatile," Genesis cut in, "It can't be good for you little Puppy, seeing as how you are very impressionable, I'm sure Angeal wouldn't want you to take on some of her finer traits."

"Genesis," Angeal scolded, "be nice, and that's not what I meant, what I meant was...uh-well I guess that was what I meant, but I would have said in a much nicer way." He looked at Zack.

"Ash and I have been friends forever, it's not my fault you never noticed, but then again, you don't really hang out in the cafeteria, or with me outside of ShinRa, so is it really that surprising I have friends?"

Angeal looked at him thoughtfully before answering, "No I guess it isn't, who's Reno? I've never seen him before."

"He's Tseng's new pet project," Sephiroth supplied, "Tseng found him in the slums, after the kid managed to pick his pocket, evidently Tseng thought that that was all that was required to be a Turk."

"That's hardly it, Tseng saw potential in him, he's a good kid, fun to hang around with too." Zack said. The Elevator dinged and the four of them stepped off of it onto the Turk's floor, "So what are we doing up here?"

* * *

A few hours later Ash sat at her desk that was covered in paperwork, "I swear Jess sometimes I think we're just glorified secretaries, you know what I mean?"

"Oh definitely, and have you noticed how it's always the girls that get the most paperwork?" Jess replied, she and Ash had been friends for almost as long Ash and Zack, the girls couldn't have been happier to know that they got into the same program at ShinRa when they went in for their training.

"You know what, come to think of it, I totally have. Hey Rude!" Ash yelled across the room, "How come you never have as much paperwork as us?"

"That's probably because he always does his on time," Tseng said walking past their desks to his own office, with an armful of files. He poked his head around his door and looked at Ash, "Actually, I'm still waiting for your report on Don Mariano, you and Elena went to see him yes?" when Ash nodded he continued, "It's been two months, I need that report on my desk by tomorrow."

"Yes sir."

"And one more thing, has anyone seen Reno?" At this point in time the four members of SOLDIER who she rode in the elevator with came walking out of the Vice-President's office and you could tell both Zack and Angeal had slowed down to hear what Ash had to say.

Stifling her laughter she glanced over at Zack and then at Jess, "Have you checked the ladies room sir? I have it on good authority that our lovely Vice-President dared him write his number on all of the bathroom stalls. You never know, maybe a girl caught him in there and decided to punish him..."

Jess couldn't help but giggle and blushed when she saw Angeal watching her, Rude rolled his eyes and Tseng sighed, "Jess, go and retrieve him, if I send Ash, he probably won't come back."

"No problem Tseng," she bit her lip and brushed past Angeal to go and get Reno.

"Ash, why was it you weren't at the meeting this morning?"

"I'm not gonna lie to you sir, I got attacked by a group of drunk Wutain warriors that really needed Kaname for some...dark...evil ritual...like they usually do...?"

Sighing again Tseng moved back into his office and Zack laughed, "Don't you think it would have been better to tell him the truth."

"Oh yeah cus that's soooo much better, tell my boss that I overslept because last night when I was dropping Reno off back at his apartment he turned off the alarm I set on my PHS, like he's gonna believe that."

"More so than your other excuse," Tseng called from his office, "get back to work!"

"Yes sir!" Ash called back grinning at Zack.

"Right I should probably leave you now, but um, how about you join us for lunch in SOLDIER's mess hall? I have some very important news to tell you."

"Who's us?"

"Me and these guys of course!" he gestured to his mentor and his friends.

"Oh um..." she looked up and caught Genesis's amused gaze, "I don't really- um I promised I'd have lunch with Jess today."

"Bring her with you, the more the merrier I say. I'll see you then okay? Great!" and without waiting for an answer, Zack left the floor. With the other 1st classes following him.


	2. Chapter 2

**And here is chapter 2, I hope you like it. I didn't think it was right to leave you guys hanging just because i'm suffering a huge case of writers block, I powered through it for you. So my aplogies if it sucks.  
**

* * *

Ash's hand came down on Zack's shoulder as she grabbed his apple with the other and sat down. "So tell me young Zachery, what was so important that you had to drag me all the way down here?" ignoring the 1st classes sitting around them and Zack's glare, she took a bite out of the apple.

"Don't forget me!" Jess piped up, appearing from seemingly nowhere. The other Turk reached across the table and grabbed Zack's yoghurt.

"Would you two stop eating my food!" Zack whined. The three 1st classes

"Oh now hush Zack, you know very well that if you aren't SOLDIER then you have to pay for food in here, and I'm certainly not about to do that." Ash rolled her eyes. "So are you going to answer my question?"

"I don't think I want to tell you my news now," he pouted.

Ash shrugged, "Fine, c'mon Jess I'm sure we can get Tseung to let us out early if we work through lunch.

"No, no wait! You're not even a little curious about what I have to say?"

The girls shook looked at each other and shook their heads, "Nope!"

"You guys suck, I don't even know why I'm friends with you."

"Because you're mum would kick your ass if you weren't looking after us...face it Zachy, Momma Fair lurves us!" Jess grinned at him and moved to get up.

"Wait! I wanna tell you my news!" he whined.

The girls sat back down and stared at him, "So spill," Ash said, taking another bite out of her apple.

"I made 2nd class!" he gave the two Turks an almost childlike grin which was returned.

"That's great Zack, you'll make 1st in no time," Ash said, and elbowed Genesis in his side when he heard him snort in disbelief.

"Thanks Ash!" he was practically beaming today, Zack always wanted to be a hero and he was one step closer to becoming one.

The six of them continued to eat, Zack being the centre of the little group, he managed to take the focus off of the two Turks. Ash's PHS rang and she frowned; there was only one person who would call her on her work PHS, everyone else used her personal one. "Professor Hojo, what can I do for you?" Zack and Jess shot her a look, while Sephiroth watched her from the corner of his eye and listened in on her conversation.  
"I need you to come down to the lab now, it's time for your treatment."

"Yes professor, I'm on my way." She shut her PHS and stood up, "I gotta go Zack, I'll see you later."  
Ash grimaced as she walked away, she hated going to see Hojo for her 'treatment' it was more like torture.

* * *

Lying on a patient bed in the lab, in a paper thin gown, Ash watched with trepidation as the scientists strapped her down tightly; making sure that she couldn't move at all. Once done, one of them injected her with a clear solution, it was used to mess with her head, make her drowsy, so she didn't know what the full extent of her 'treatments' were. It would be thirty minutes before Hojo would appear, so until then she was left with her thoughts. Her vision was beginning to fade in and out of black and her mind was letting everything it thought and saw flow into each other. Everything was spinning so fast that she had to close her eyes to stop herself from being violently sick. Opening them wearily at the sound of footsteps she managed to make out long silver hair and a flash of green eyes that could only be characterised as one person. "Sephiroth?" she asked, with no saliva to speak of her mouth felt cottony and his name had probably come out as a garbled mess sounding somewhat similar to the original. But in a flash the silver and green were gone, replaced by grey hair and glasses. Hojo.

"Now it's time for your treatment," the scientist cackled. He injected her with a dark red serum and her whole body tensed.

"No," she moaned, her fists clenched and her body shook with effort, as the serum flowed through her veins it left a trail of white hot fire in its wake. And she screamed, long, hard and loud, she screamed until her voice was raw. Every part of her was burning up; her heart was on fire, she could see nothing but white, she felt as though she was being ripped apart from the inside. And then there it was, sweet relief, darkness.

* * *

It was lunch time the next day and Jess once again found herself in the SOLDIER mess, and without Ash there, it appeared that all the attention was on her. She had promised Zack that she would come and join him again, because he wanted her to get to know his mentor and friend Angeal. Truth be told she was a little nervous, she would be having lunch without the outgoing Ash by her side, and she would be having lunch with all three 1st classes. One of which she found quite attractive, Ash wouldn't be there to distract them, how was she going to do this?

"Hey Jess, come take a seat!" Zack called pointing to the empty seat next to Angeal.

Jess gave him a small smile and made her way to their table, "Zack have you spoken to Ash yet?" she asked.

Zack's smile disappeared and he shook his head, "I tried calling her this morning but her PHS is set to voicemail. Hopefully she's just asleep, you know how much those..." he paused and looked around the table, all eyes were on him, "...sessions...take out of her. She usually gets the rest of the week off after her... sessions."

"Yes but- no matter how tired she is, she always takes Kaname with her, the only reason the swords not with her in the lab is because Hojo banned her from taking it in. It's still with her coat upstairs. Do you think that means she's still here?"

Zack shook his head again, "You've told me before, Tseung doesn't let Hojo keep her overnight, and he's only allowed to take her when he's gotten permission from Rufus. She's probably at home sleeping it off, and she will have just turned off her PHS. I'm sure we have nothing to worry about." This he said rather unconvincingly. The only time Ash was without her sword was when she was in Hojo's lab, no matter what she would take it before she went home. But Hojo couldn't still have her, right?

Sephiroth's eyes narrowed at the subject of their conversation, he had seen Ash yesterday in the lab, he had a bad feeling, and if Zack truly didn't believe that she was well, she probably wasn't. His concern wasn't because he felt anything towards the girl, how could he? They had just met yesterday. But he knew the type of horrors Hojo would put people through and he disliked the thought of anyone having to go through that. Perhaps he should fake an injury and go to the lab to check on the girl, he knew it would appease the Pup. Just as he was about to voice this thought the doors to the Mess slid open and Tseung walked in. The Wutaian Turk zeroed in on their position and directed his questions to Jess. "Where is Ashra? She has yet to clock in and it is her turn to watch the Vice President."

Jess and Zack looked at Tseung in shock, "She has the week off doesn't she? Hojo called her in to the lab yesterday."

"What? He never confirmed any of this with me."

"You didn't know? Hojo's not allowed any sessions with any of the Turks without your say so!" Zack exclaimed.

"I'm going to the lab," Tseung muttered, "I'll find out what's going on here."

"That would not be the best idea." Sephiroth said, stopping the dark haired Turk from taking another step.

"Oh and what would be the _best idea_ General?" Tseung asked, "She is a Turk, one of my people, you do not need to concern yourself with this."

"If Hojo believes that you are going against his will then you will only end up hurting your Turk, you should send someone in there to first confirm that she is still there, _without_ arousing the Professor's suspicion."

"And how am I going to do that?"

Sephiroth turned to look at his fellow Firsts, his friends and raised an eyebrow. "Of course," Genesis muttered, drawing the Turks attention away from the General and on to him. "If one of us," he motioned to himself, Angeal and Sephiroth "is injured during training, even if it is the slightest graze, we must report to Hojo. He likes to know what goes on with our bodies. Is that what you're planning Seph? To get hurt? You know the Professor will find it suspicious if you turn up injured badly and you can't go in with a small cut on your shoulder. Not only would you heal too fast but Hojo knows you despise him, you'd never go there unless it was a necessity."

"So why don't one of you get injured?" Zack interjected. "It wouldn't look suspicious if you were training with Sephiroth."

"You expect one of us, to get hurt just see if your friend's still in there? You expect one of us to willingly walk into Hojo's clutches for someone we barely know?" Genesis snorted.

"Gen if it bothers you so much then I'll go," Angeal said.

"Are you serious? Do you honestly believe that you'll be able to fool Hojo into thinking that you got injured while fighting Seph? That hasn't happened since you became a 2nd." He wasn't about to let Hojo get his hands on Angeal, "I'll do it," he sighed, "I'm the only one Hojo is going to remotely believe."

"Then it's settled" Sephiroth muttered, "Genesis will find out if your Turk is still here before dinner."

"Why are you so keen on helping us?" Jess asked, "after all it's not exactly a secret that SOLDIER and the Turks are as big as enemies as one can get while working for the same company."

"You're friends with Zack," Angeal said.

"That's different, we've known each other since we were little, we grew up together."

"Ashra is Zack's friend and Zack is ours, so we will help, besides what Hojo is allowed to get away with is wrong. I've always wanted to take that scientist down a peg or two." Genesis replied.

* * *

A few hours later Genesis was sat in the lab on one of the beds clutching his right arm, stemming the blood flow. He knew they were supposed to make this look real but damn! Sephiroth really got him good. Hojo pottered around him checking his vitals and the red headed SOLDIER rolled his eyes, "Professor if you're quite done I would like to get back to my active duties." Hojo glared at the younger man and called over one of the scientist to fix the SOLDIER up. When Hojo walked off Genesis looked up at the young scientist, the young woman, "You can go, I'll be fine."

"The Professor told me to heal you, I can't go against his orders." She said.

Genesis raised an eyebrow at the woman, "I can heal myself, now go, I gave you a direct order."

"Yes sir," the woman nodded and headed into another part of the lab.

After a few minutes of searching, Genesis found the room for Hojo's test subjects, he and Angeal had to come here many times before, when they were younger and Sephiroth still received treatments from Hojo. They would come and sneak him out of the lab at night, Hojo was cruel and had repeatedly informed Sephiroth that if he wanted to leave all he had to do was get up and walk out of the door, on his own. Of course, the medication he was given left even the great Sephiroth to weak to move, so his only two friends would come in and risk their careers to save the General. Walking in Genesis found exactly who he was looking for, the Turk was strapped to the bed and looked practically dead. Sephiroth had never looked like this when they had come to get him... she was so pale and covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Blue veins lined her skin, they were so visible it looked as though they had been drawn on, and the skin around her eyes was incredibly swollen. _'She won't be able to see for days,'_ he thought.

"I knew you were up to something," a voice said from the doorway.

Turning Genesis saw the same scientist who had tried to heal him, pulling Rapier from its place on his back he held it to the girls throat, "If you've told anyone-"

"I haven't, if you've come to take her do it quickly," her voice only quivered a little, "Hojo will be back soon and I doubt she will survive another dose of serum."

"What did he do to her?"

"There's no time, you have to get her out of here now!"

"If Hojo didn't give her permission to leave then he'll know something is wrong."

"But he did, he said if she could get up and walk out on her own then she could."

Genesis looked back at her, "Why are you helping me?"

"Because what he's doing is wrong."

"What's your name?"

"You can call my Kai," she replied, "now go."

Genesis unstrapped Ash from the bed and literally fled the lab with her in his arms, he needed to get her to Sephiroth...

* * *

**So there it is, please review.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok here's chapter 3 redone, I thought everything moved a little too fast in the first version.  
**

* * *

Ash lay on the bed in Sephiroth's room drifting in and out of consciousness, not that it made much difference, she couldn't see anything anyway. She could hear voices talking lowly near her, moaning softly she shifted her arms and tried to sit up. The second her stomach muscles began to clench in order for her to move she felt hands on each of her shoulders pushing her back down to the bed. "It's alright Ash, it's me Zack, you need to stay still, we don't know how hurt you are."

Even in pain, she knew not to trust anything or anyone without proof, "Prove it," her voice cracked as she spoke, clearly she hadn't been allowed to drink anything in the 36 hours she'd spent in Hojo's lab.

He held a glass of water and guided the straw to her mouth so that she could drink from it and answered her, "Um...when we were six I asked you to marry me and you told me that boys were icky and could never marry a boy because we all have germs..."

That brought a round of laughter from Genesis, "Would you look at that Pup, even at six she knew it was too good for you!"

And that earned him a slap on the back of the head from Angeal, "Be nice."

"Ok now I know this isn't real because that sounded a lot like First Class Rhapsodos and Hewely."

"It is Genesis and 'Geal, they helped me get you out of the lab. Ash what did Hojo do to you?"

"I-" she tried in vain to search her memory for something, anything that could give her a clue as to what had happened yesterday but there was nothing, just darkness and pain, "I can't remember there's just pain. I don't- why can't I see anything Zack and where the hell am I?"

Zack grimaced at the question, "From what we can tell, Hojo was experimenting on them, I don't think you're gonna be able to see for a few days. As for where you are, well you're in the General's room..."

"Sephiroth's room!" she exclaimed, "Why-what am I doing in here? Don't you think that it'd be better for me to be at my place?"

"Someone needs to look after you Ash and SOLDIER can't go into the Turk's building. It would be too much work for Jess to look after you the whole time and Tseng won't be able to spare any more of his guys to help out. So we figured it'd be easier if you stayed here."

"Well why aren't I in your room Zack?"

"Well duh Seph's got the biggest room out of all of us, and he offered, ain't that right Seph?" Zack grinned, not getting any response from his superior.

"Right-well uh, thank you, all of you, but if you take me back to my room I can take care of myself, I know where everything is at home and can navigate the place in my sleep."

"That would not be a good idea, we have yet to find out just how injured you are and I doubt you'd be able to feed yourself. You'll stay here until you can see." Sephiroth interjected, he couldn't explain it but he felt like it was his duty to protect her.

"Fine, then I'm going to sleep, oh...has anyone told Tseng that I'm here?"

"Crap," Zack whined.

* * *

Tseng looked over the boardroom's table and fought the urge to shoot Hojo right in between his beady little eyes. Zack had come to find him a few hours ago and informed him that Ash had been found. Steepling his fingers he reminded himself that technically speaking all she was to him and to the company was just another Turk, someone who could be easily replaced by a person far more agreeable to the President's wishes. She wasn't important, and if he was found to be favouring any member of staff more than another then he could be just as easily replaced.

But he couldn't help it, when Ash had first arrived she had been only twelve and had almost immediately found that her big eyes and pouting lips could get her just about anything she wanted. She was quite a cute tween and had promptly climbed through the ranks of generic bodyguard to T.I.T, to generic Turk to being on the Vice-President's special task force. She was three years older than Rufus ShinRa and met him when he was eleven, quickly endearing herself to him. Rufus thought of her very much as an older sister, in fact on every one of his birthdays she would sneak the Vice-President out of the building and take him out on a day out of fun.

When he had told Rufus what he had heard from Zach, when he had seen the damage done to her up close along with Rufus, he had had to physically restrain the young blonde from (as Reno had put it) 'going postal on Hojo's ass.' Regardless of what the scientist had done to her, she was technically property of ShinRa and if the President saw fit to order these experiments he was duty bound not to stop them. He had already loathed the President for the beatings he had put his young son through but something had cracked in Tseng this time, it was if this was the final straw, the one reason that he would irrefutably be executed. The final nail in his coffin so to speak . Tseng couldn't stop the beatings Rufus had received but he would not allow one of his Turks, especially one as talented as Ash to be subjected to such torture. And he knew in that moment that the President wouldn't survive much longer. Young Rufus' rage had been dark and powerful, the look in his eyes had been one of pure malice, and when it came down to it, the Turks would be on Rufus' side. If the Vice-President wanted his father dead then it would happen, and it would happen just as slowly and painfully as Rufus requested.

Clenching his fists now Tseng came back to himself, "Mr President the point is, Professor Hojo deliberately endangered one of my people, and did so without informing anyone of what he was planning. As stated in sub section C of the Shinra science department's rules and regulations, paragraph seventeen 'No member of the Turks is to be used for experimentation unless it has been agreed upon by both the Vice-President and the head of the Turk department.' " he finished, glaring at Hojo from across the table.

"Never the less, what's done is done. Your Turk is alive and she has proved very useful for Professor Hojo's research, I don't see the problem here." The President replied.

"The problem is that when we found Miss Montearo in the halls she was half dead, currently she is confined to bed and has been blinded by whatever it is that the Professor has done to her. She is one of the best at what she does and one of the most competent, and it is part of her responsibility to protect your son. How is she to do that if she is being pulled away from her duties in order to be experimented on?"

"That's enough Tseng, when Miss Montearo is in better health we shall continue this meeting and I shall decide what needs to be done. You're dismissed Turk." It was obvious the President didn't have any respect for the Turk department, ever since his son had been named Vice-President he had felt the hands of time ticking. While Rufus was in power the President's own time would come to a close shortly. His decision to give Rufus such a position of power had been a mistake on his part, a grave one, but one that would be remedied as soon as possible. When Tseng had left the President turned to Hojo. "How did the results come out?"

"Miss Montearo is responding to the treatments marginally better than her father did, a few more and we should be able to gain control of a real demon, no one would dare oppose Shinra again. And if she really did manage to make it out of the lab on her own then she is improving far more quickly than expected. It won't be long before you have something more powerful than Sephiroth on your side." He let out a cackle as the President smirked.

"When she has recovered I want her power tested, and we can find out if _all_ of Vincent Valentine's children possess his knack for survival."

* * *

Dum, dum, dum! Ash is Vincent's child...but who else is? Well the only way to find out quickly is to review. A happy author is one who updates more frequently you know?


	4. Chapter 4

There was a knock at the door and Sephiroth stood up, answering it he was surprised to see a woman he knew he had seen down in Hojo's lab a few times. She was carrying a large brown bag and looked up at him, "Hello General, First Class Rhapsodos said this is where I could find subject four-three-five, the Turk...uh-I'm Kai, I don't know if he mentioned me..."

"He did, what is it that you want?" he rumbled, admittedly he had found himself interested in her when he saw her around the lab, but he wasn't going to let his guard down.

"I just came to see how she was healing, to see if there was anything I could do for her."

Sephiroth's eyes narrowed on her for a moment, as if trying to figure out whether she was lying to him. "Come in."

"Thank you," she gave him a small smile before following him to the bedroom where Ashra slept.

Sephiroth watched as Kai carefully checked over Ashra, he was still trying to figure out what Ash meant to him and know all of a sudden he was feeling some sort of a pull towards this woman, a woman that he had never spoken to before today. "Why did you help Genesis?" he asked causing her to jump at the suddenness of his voice.

"I don't believe in the Professor's work, I never have, he likes to take people with particularly strong DNA and mess with its molecular structure, he thinks he's a god and I couldn't stand to watch it anymore. Especially not to her..."

"...to her?"

Kai smiled up at him before turning back to her work, "She saved me you know?" gently she applied some sort of salve to the area around Ash's eyes and bandaged it up. "I was walking home with my groceries and was pulled into an alleyway. I'm not so good with the whole defending myself thing, I mean I can put up a good fight and everything, throw a decent punch but in the dark and taken by surprise I'm kinda clueless, so I was pretty sure I was gonna die when this guy held a knife to my throat. And then, well I don't know, I guess she was in the area and saw what was happening and saved me. I usually take care of her when she comes down for her 'treatments' but this time was different, usually it's just a couple of hours and then she's done. But he kept her there over night, I'm still trying to figure out what it was Hojo gave her this time, I mean with her reaction to it I'd think that-you know I don't want to say until I'm sure, but her reaction was unexpected. Hojo thought she would survive two doses of the serum but she died four times last night, I gave her something to counteract the serum just before First Class Rhapsodos came into the lab. I don't know how I'm ever going to repay her for saving my life." She met Sephiroth's green eyes with her own brown ones.

"I'm sure she would say you already have."

* * *

**  
Four Days Later**

Ashra sighed and stretched in bed, four days, she'd been bedridden and blind and fucking bored for four fucking days straight. At least if she were at her place then she could listen to music, or annoy Reno on her PHS, but no she had to be in the great General Sephiroth's apartment. _'Great General my ass more like great git,'_ she thought sourly. For some reason she'd never really seen the appeal Sephiroth held for the fairer sex, maybe she thought his hair made him look just a little too girly than a man of his stature...maybe she shouldn't say that part out loud, Kai would have her hide if she heard that. Or maybe it was the fact that his hair was prettier than hers, Ash knew from experience that she couldn't date a man with prettier hair than her, it just wasn't on, they'd spend their mornings fighting in front of the mirror in the bathroom so they could look perfect. Ash was never one for sharing the spotlight...or her bathroom mirror... Anyway he was rapidly becoming her least favourite person in the world after Hojo and the President of course. Because of him she was bored, it was his fault she couldn't go home, it was his fault she didn't have any entertainment because he refused to let anyone into his place when he wasn't there, and he wasn't there a hell of a lot. So all she could do was sleep, and desperately try to move her sore body from its position under the covers. But stubbornly it refused to move. Sighing again she banged her head against the pillow and let out a frustrated cry.

"You know it's not such a good idea to try and hurt your head after Kai spent such a long time fixing it up." A voice said from the doorway.

"Genesis?" she asked incredulously, "what are you doing here? Is Sephiroth back?"

"No he's not." The red headed SOLDIER strolled into the room holding a very worn copy of his beloved Loveless in his hand.

"Then how-"

"I stole his keys," he jangled them so she could hear.

"What SOLDIER, poet and heartthrob to women everywhere aren't enough? You have to add thief to your list?"

"Well Ash I never knew you considered me a heartthrob...tell me do you find me pretty?" he asked amusedly.

Ash luckily enough managed not to blush when those words came from his mouth, "Hardly, anyone with prettier hair than me just doesn't do it for me. What are you doing here Genesis?"

"You know there's no need to be so rude I have braved Sephiroth's wrath just to keep you company seeing as how Zack may have mentioned to me your short attention span and tendency to get bored very easily." He replied melodramatically. That was Genesis, she had managed to pick up over the last two days, he was the one who tended to be a bit of a drama queen.

"And why would you want to do that?"

"He may have also mentioned to me that you'd never read Loveless, or seen one of the enactments so I thought I'd bring my copy with me and read it to you."

"Ah so you've come to torture me then," she replied playfully. "Very well sir, let the torment begin." She smiled and felt the bed depress next to her and he began to speak.

"Loveless – Prologue:  
When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end. The goddess descends from the sky. Wings of light and dark spread afar. She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting..."

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"It's been six fucking days Genesis! I think I know Loveless from cover to cover now, so you can stop reading it!" Ash complained.

Genesis chuckled, "Loveless Act One?" he asked.

"Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess, we seek it thus and take to the sky, ripples form on the water's surface, the wandering soul knows no rest. Is that enough proof for you?!"

"I suppose, but if I'm not reading this to you then how shall I keep you entertained?"

"I don't know, have you ever tried holding a conversation with someone as opposed to reciting poetry to them?" she rubbed her forehead just above her bandages, her eyes were starting to feel itchy, but Kai had told her not to irritate them anymore.

"You know most girls would kill to have me recite poetry to them..."

"Yeah well I think you'll find I'm not a part of the Red Leather fan club, oh for piss sakes!" she moaned and ripped off the bandages around her eyes.

"Ash you're not supposed to take those o-" he stopped mid sentence when he saw her eyes, he was fairly certain that they were brown before she went in to see Hojo.

"What? Genesis what is it?!" her eyesight was still a little fuzzy, almost as if the lines that usually clearly defined one another were blended into one another. Right now Genesis was melting into the wall in her vision.

"I think I need to get Sephiroth," he whispered.

"Damn it Genesis what the fuck is wrong?!" but it was too late, he had already rushed out of the room to go and find his General.

* * *

Sephiroth sat in his office lips pursed, staring at the young scientist who had been helping them thus far, he enjoyed watching her when she talked about her work. Kai's eyes lit up and she had an air of confidence about her when she knew that she was the only one who truly knew what she was talking about. "Ok so I think I may have just about figured out what Hojo did to Ash, at least in theory..."

He shook himself from his thoughts just in time to make it look like he was giving her words his full attention "And that would be?"

"Well, a while ago Hojo did some experimentation on a Turk, much like the ones he has been doing on Ash but this isn't as advanced as what he did previously. Hojo based whatever it is he did to Ash on research done by a scientist almost thirty years ago involving the lifestream. Now about twenty years ago he managed to expose a Turk to a chemically altered form of the lifestream, mutating him and giving the Turk the ability to change his form when enraged into some sort of monsters. I don't know what happened to the Turk, but Ash, I think, has been injected with a similar form of this 'new lifestream' and I think it's been happening systematically just so Hojo can see how far he can push her. The serum I gave her was the one Hojo had been using on her every time she left the lab, it appears to have helped but I don't know the extent of the damage Hojo has caused her yet."

"You're saying that this is a more primitive version of treatment than what Hojo has used in the past."

"Yep."

"That makes no sense, surely in order to improve his previous experiment he would need to use better equipment and better drugs, his experiments would become more advanced over time."

"Well like I said, the research isn't Hojo's, I don't think he knows how to improve the experiment so he just went back to basics. I can't find any mention of the research anywhere else in the lab, so maybe it's gone."

"Maybe, but I can't feasibly see Hojo letting any sort of vital research disappear, what was the Turks name?" Sephiroth asked thoughtfully.

"Vincent Valentine, he disappeared twenty years ago and there's been no mention of him ever since, according to the database in the lab he's not dead, no one knows where he is and he's not classed as MIA."

"I'll have to talk to Tseng, he should have information on every Turk that has ever walked these halls-"

He was cut off by Genesis who burst through the doors, "Seph, you really need to see this."

* * *

Sephiroth stared at Ash's eyes in contemplation before turning to look at Genesis, "How did you get into my room?"

Genesis raised an eyebrow looking at him in almost disbelief, "Her eyes have turned from their natural brown to red and black and all you can ask me is how I got into your room?!" Sephiroth stared at him and Genesis waved a hand in the air dismissively, "How I got in here doesn't matter, what does matter is what happened to her eyes! Any ideas?!"

Ash and Kai sat on the bed watching the SOLDIERS exchange in silence before Ash turned to the brunette next to her, "I'm starting to believe Genesis is just a little bit crazy... you?"

Kai nodded not taking her eyes of the silver haired General before her, "Oh yeah, he's definitely crazy but," shaking herself out of her Sephiroth induced trance (he was after all just a little mezmerising) she turned to look at Ash, "maybe I should take a look at your eyes." Without another word she whipped out a small penlight and shined it into the girls eyes, "You're pupil reaction is better than normal, faster than a Turk's, it's faster than a SOLDIER's actually, how do things look on your end?"

"Well after the initial blurriness it looks like everything has been brought into focus, everything has clean cut lines, colours are brighter, the light's a little painful now- it almost feels as though I'm squinting into the sun if I look directly into one. And when the lights are off...well..."

"Well what?"

"Okay I know this is going to sound a little crazy, but I turned the lights off, I mean I made it pitch black in here and I could everything, granted it ranged from pink to red but I could see it all. Like I was looking through some sort of light filter..."

"Night vision, I guess it's possible, you'd need to look into a mirror in the dark and tell me what your pupil reaction's like, I mean the fact that your eyes are now this colour may be why, I've seen...monsters with eyes like this, they're very apt at handling the dark, also your eyes are kind creepy now, I mean they would be to the average person. So you may want to invest in a pair of sunglasses from now on." Her eyes were red a black, both the whites of her eyes and the pupils were deep red, almost crimson while the irises were black.

"Great now Rude is gonna accuse me of jacking his style." Rolling her eyes she looked up at the two members of SOLDIER who didn't seem like they were going to stop arguing, "Boys!" both of them looked at Ash, "Can we bring the attention back to the Turk and away from Genesis's breaking and entering skills?"

Sephiroth's eyes snapped back to Genesis, "You broke in!"

Ash sighed and turned to the scientist, "You wanna give me a lift back to my place? I've been cooped up here way to long." Kai nodded and both girls headed out of the room, "Come to think of it, where's my sword?"

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Ok here's the latest chapter so please review!


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